Annex A. Methodology
The OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation together with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) worked together over 2020-2022 to explore how the public sector can contribute to the effective governance of innovation ecosystems in a context of complex challenges and uncertainty.
The findings in this report draw on the triangulation of data emerging from semi-structured interviews, workshops, surveys and desk research.
Desk research, including previous OECD reports on public governance in Latvia and innovation ecosystems, grey literature (policy briefs, reports, etc.), academic literature on innovation policy, innovation ecosystems, foresight and anticipation, and Latvian government publications.
Semi-structured interviews with over 40 public sector leaders, policymakers, experts and key private sector and research stakeholders to understand the context for R&I, Smart Specialisation and innovation ecosystems in Latvia. In late 2020 and early 2021, the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation conducted a series of 35 interviews with key stakeholders connected to the Latvian Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) and innovation ecosystem management. Interviewees included stakeholders from the Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Education, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), universities and research institutions, start-ups, medium-sized enterprises, state-owned enterprises, business associations and more. In August 2022, further interviews were conducted with representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Latvian Council of Science and Riga Technical University to gain insight on the most recent changes in the R&I policy governance and implementation mechanisms and the rationale for these changes.
Semi-structured interviews with representatives from 10 European innovation ecosystem initiatives to gather information on roles and governance models for innovation ecosystems. Ecosystems were selected to cover four main thematic areas that are of interest to the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) based on the Latvian Smart Specialisation strategy. The themes cover 5G/6G, bioeconomy, biomedicine and photonics. The ecosystems were: spearhead cluster flanders.healthTech, Belgium; BioWin, Belgium; Dutch Top Sector Life Science and Health, the Netherlands; PhotonDelta, the Netherlands; Unlocking Industrial 5G, Finland; 6G Flagship, Finland; BioBall, Germany; Biotech North, Norway; Lithuanian Sunrise Valley; JIC regional innovation ecosystem in South Moravia, Czechia.
Six governance approach development workshops to test and iterate developing tools and methods to support the governance of anticipatory innovation ecosystems. These engaged representatives from multiple teams within LIAA, as well as public servants from the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Education and Science (Table A A.1).
Seven ecosystem development workshops with more than 80 stakeholders from the fields of smart mobility, smart materials and photonics, bioeconomy and biomedicine. Six of these workshops took place virtually over 90-120 minutes and engaged between 5 and 45 stakeholders in structured interactive activities. An offline workshop for the biomedicine ecosystem took place over two days in Riga on 17 and 18 May 2022, and engaged 28 stakeholders (Table A A.1). Detail on the types of activities that were undertaken can be found in Chapter 4.
A formative evaluation of ecosystem development workshops. The evaluation had two key objectives. Firstly, it aimed to analyse ecosystem partners’ perceptions on the relevance and usefulness of the workshops. Secondly, the evaluation sought to establish a method through which LIAA and ecosystem actors can periodically reflect on the applicability of the tools and activities for further ecosystem building. The evaluation relied on two core methods: 1) online survey of all workshop participants; and 2) interviews with a representative sample of participants. The short online survey was designed to gather a more aggregate and quantitative feedback from a large pool of workshop participants. The survey was sent to all participants (n=82) with a response rate of 46% (38 completed replies). In addition, 10 interviews were held with at least two participants from each ecosystem. The interviews complemented this quantitative feedback providing more in-depth insights on how the workshop content influenced participants’ understanding of the ecosystem approach to innovation development.
Thank you for agreeing to take part in this survey about the workshop run by the OECD and Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA). It will take only 10 minutes of your time. Your responses will help informing the future development of tools and approaches to support the orchestration and governance of anticipatory innovation ecosystems.
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5. Will you participate in future innovation ecosystem workshops/activities organised by LIAA?
6. As a result of participating in the workshop, do you intend to undertake any further activities (e.g., follow-up with ecosystem partners, revision of organisational strategy, etc.)?
7. Overall, how satisfied you are with the engagement, communication and facilitation methods used before and during the workshop:
Introduction
This interview is part of a formative evaluation that will inform the future development of tools and approaches that LIAA can use to support the orchestration and governance of anticipatory innovation ecosystems. The aim of this interview is to gather feedback from workshop participants on the usefulness of the workshop content and engagement, communication and facilitation methods used, as well as understand participants’ perceptions on anticipatory approaches that can support innovation ecosystem development.
The interview will last 20-30 minutes. The information that you provide will be treated in confidence by the study team. We request your permission to record the discussion for analytical purposes. The recordings will be securely stored and destroyed after the completion of the evaluation study.
Questions
Please explain how your participation in the workshop affected your understanding of the ecosystem approach (e.g., role of the ecosystem player, common goals, collective learning, ability to work together)? Please give any examples of what you learned/understood/ understood better during the seminar
Do you plan to implement any specific activities in your ecosystem after attending the workshop? If so, which ones? If not, why not?
What would help you and prevent you from bringing the lessons from the workshop into practice in your ecosystem?
Do you think that an ecosystem approach can improve innovation processes and the impact of innovation in the biomedical/bioeconomy/photonics/smart mobility sector? Why?
How effective were the methods of communication and involvement in the workshop (e.g., pre-workshop information, explanations during the workshop, moderation of discussions, time available for activities, etc.)?